Finally, some progress!!!

I am finally making some progress on my Central Park Hoodie. I am up to the point where I am working on the hood.
Here are some pictures of the shoulder seams. I crocheted it on the wrong side using the Single Crochet stitch.

I lined up the stitches with the padlock shaped stitch markers.

Wow!!! What a neat seam for my first try. This is why it is very important to bind off loosely.
The seam from the wrong side.
Now it is starting to actually look like a sweater.
Progress on the hood, about 4 inches.
I added the cable to the center of the hood. It looks better this way.

Only 7 more inches to go!! Woohoo! You think maybe I can finish this before the week is done? Although there were many distractions while knitting this sweater, I am all excited all over again, and I am still in love with the color.

Blocking done!

I finally blocked my Central Park Hoodie. What took me so long? I guess I hesitated because it was the first time blocking a sweater. I actually steam-blocked it, and am happy with the result. Hopefully it will knit up perfectly, and I won't have to re-block it. We will see.

Here are the before pictures

And here are the after shots!

The sleeves.

The back

The front left and right pieces Now it's time to seam the shoulders, and carry on with the hood!!! And, I got these supercute buttons from M&J Trimming on 6th Avenue. Unfortunately, they were not on sale :-(

Today I had a stash increase. I bought these skeins of yarn from Jimmy Beans Wool on sale for $3.50 each. Shipping took only 2 days, and the customer service team was very helpful and friendly. I would definately order from them again.

I am going to make a vest out of the pink variegated yarn (YoYo), with the solid color (Lolly) being used for the border. The leftover pink variegated yarn will be used to make a hat for my God-daughter Symara, and the purple yarn (Hula Hoop) will make a hat for her sister Carissa. These girls are a year apart, and always want to have the same thing. Whew!! Good thing they like different colors.

You Can't Hurry Love...No You Just Have to Wait!

My falling In Love socks are complete. Finally!!! It took a visit to the doctor, and being in the waiting room FOREVER to get these babies done.

No more teasing DEB!!!

Time for show and tell.
Let me also add, that I just showed them off to Mommy, and her remark was "GET A LIFE!!!" Well, at least I'm not on drugs!!! She is just pissed that I will be going to Rhinebeck the weekend that she wanted me to help her decorate a wedding. Hey, I had my Rhinebeck plans before the couple set the date. Whatever!!! Hello??? Whose life is this? You can't get mad at people for doing whatever they want to do. So, Rhinebeck here I come. I need some more yarn, and I want some Ice Wine too.
Hmmm.. I guess that means no shawl for Mommy this winter. Oh well, more time for me to make sweaters.


Speaking of Sweaters, here is my update on the Snuggle sweater.
I have also set a deadline for the Central Park Hoodie. It was really cold today (60 degrees in August) and I wished I could have just put it on..but it's kinda hard to do that when it is in pieces. So, it will be blocked before the weekend, I promise. I need it for the Rhinebeck trip. September is around the corner, and then October will be here before you know it.

UFO sighting!!!

I was going through my closet, and I found this Unfinished Object. It is the Cropped Pullover #2 from Vogue Knitting Winter 2005/2006. I decided to make it using Manos del Uruguay in Rust (#28)


I was very ambitious to want to do this as my first sweater, considering it did not have the traditional sweater shape. There is nothing like it. I mean, it is both a V-Neck and a turtleneck (when flipped upside down).
After completing the body piece, I was supposed to somehow join it, and then add on the sleeves and collar. The VK instructions were a little bit difficult to understand at the time that I was trying to construct it. However, it has since been updated, and I can continue on without a problem.
Just a side note. I was able to get the stitch gauge, but the row gauge was a little off, so I compensated for this by adding more rows to the length of the sweater so that it can meet the required measurements. It is done in a K1P1 rib, so stretching should not be a problem. More updates later. Happy knitting everyone!!!

What a wonderful Knitta-Que weekend!!

Firstly, I must say that the Sisterfriends Knitta-Que was amazing. I had so much fun. I want to personally thank Chante and Sahara for planning it and making it possible. I also want to thank them for the lovely gift I recieved for helping out with the flyer. Sahara had a grab bag of goodies, and I picked this book, mainly because I have this sweater obsession now.

Here is a picture of Sahara working on a beautiful lace piece.

Here is a picture of Chante happily spinning. Yes the wheel really was moving that fast, and the camera caught a glimpse of it.

Also, here is Chante's coworker Kim, working on a pair of socks. She made the best carrot cake ever, and even though the cream cheese frosting splattered on me as I was trying to get it out of the pan, it was not a big deal becaue it was so sweet and scrumptious.

Here is Tawana, a fellow Brooklynite who has been my friend through this blogworld for a few months now.

This was the first time that we got a chance to meet face to face, and I am so happy. We are actually working on the Central Park Hoodie at the same time. I am persistently trying to get her to change her mind about putting it in hibernation, but she has this pretty little thing called a baby growing inside of her that is making it difficult. She is working on a little pair of Koigu socks in the picture, and I am sure she has so much more ideas for cute baby sweaters. Hey, how about a mini Central Park Hoodie so baby can look like mommy??? It will still be sweater weather when the baby comes along. I know, I won't give up!!

Also, in attendance was N'joya from the Harlem Knitting Circle. She was a joy to talk to as always. I am really feeling the color scheme that she has going on. Okay, my next project will be a size 15 needle project, because I am getting super jealous. LOL!!!

Speaking of projects, here is the update on my Snuggle Sweater.

Only 1 and a half more pattern repeats to go before I start the armhole decreases. This project is going by really fast. The pattern changes colors really quickly, so I am not getting bored. One even better thing is that the pattern comes from Knitting magazine (British) from March of 2006, and many knitters in the US have never even heard of it. This means that I will have a one of a kind sweater this winter... FINALLY!!! By the way, I touched a marked down designer cashmere sweater in Daffy's today, and it elt like Brillo compared to my Snuggle sweater. My goodness, and I didn't even block it with my lavender scented woolwash yet. I think I may get arrested by the fashion police for wearing this sweater too much. Rowan RYC/Cashmerino DK rocks!!!

My Stitch N' Pitch Review

First, let me say that I had many preconcieved notions about baseball, and thought it was a boring sport, and couldn't understand how and why so many people were into it. However, after Stitch N' Pitch, my feelings have changed.
This is the view from my seat. I sat next to Saunielle and very close to Chante and her son Jamal.

Here is an unsuspecting picture of Chante knitting her sock, and Jamal posing and smiling. Isn't he so adorable? Chante, I will say once again, that you are an excellent mother, and he is a wonderful child.

He even participated in the knitting festivities. Wow, I am impressed. He was so dedicated too!!Here is a picture of Jamal, Chante, and our fellow Sit N' Knit member Allena. She is wearing the gorgeous Limited Edition Sit N Knit /Stitch N Pitch T-shirt that I took too long to order, so now I am jealous that I don't have one. ( Jealous in a good way, of course)

Here is a Candid shot of Sit N' Knit organizer Anne-Marie and I, knitting and chatting away.

We were talking a bunch of nonsense at this time, so the facial gestures are a little wacky. But, nonetheless, whatever we were saying was hilarious. People on the train car were staring. I am not sure if they were really interested in what we were saying, or the fact that our lips and our needles were moving at top speed, and we did not make any mistakes.

Now for my thoughts on the game. I was pleasantly surprised that the time actually flew by. Baseball is so much slower on TV. I loved the little entertainment things that they did every time there was a break between innings. While I was watching the game, I explained a few things to Saunielle, and realized that I knew a lot more about baseball than I thought I knew.

So, in essence I had a lot of fun, and will be going to the next Mets vs. Braves game in September with one of my friends who is a die-hard Mets fan. He already warned me that I cannot bring my knitting. But, I don't listen to what men tell me to do, and I feel that if I am making a pair of gloves for him, as he kindly requested, then he will just have to deal with it. :-) More updates on that in about a month.

What a day! What a day!!

Okay. So I have many names for today..."Transit Hell".."Stupidity Unfolding".. "A tree gets plucked out of the ground by a Giant in Brooklyn"..

First...My transit ordeal.

I was supposed to take the Express Bus going into Downtown Manhattan, get dropped off near Battery Park, and walk to work within 5 minutes, log in to my computer, go to the Cafeteria for some coffee and a bagel, and then mosy on up to my desk and start to appease the bankers so that they can effectively make money for our company. WRONG!!!!!

I got to the bus stop, and was informed by two ladies that the bus I was supposed to be on just left.. actually two of them back to back. So I was pissed at a level of 4. Then, four buses came..Two midtown, and 2 running express to Downtown Brooklyn. I was pissed at a level of 6 by this point. I was advised that the 2 and 3 trains were not running, so taking the train was pointless. All of the midtown buses were packed, so I waited for the Downtown Brooklyn bus that was empty, and hopped on, hoping that I would transfer to a Downtown Manhattan bus at the checkpoint. So, we get to checkpoint and there is a mob of people. I call my cousin who goes online and informs me that even more trains are shut down, and I should just get to the bridge and walk to work from there...which would have probably been a 30-45 minute walk.

So, I figured, if I am going to walk, and stay away from the mob, I should get some food. I went into a breakfast deli place only for the sweet man working there to tell me that there was no meat whatsoever, so I could not have my egg sandwich with turkey bacon, or bacon, or anything else. The stove wan't even turned on, so I left. I was pissed to a point of 8 by this time.

A downtown bus appeared to the rescue and had room for about 5 people, standing room only. I jumped on with the speed of a gazelle. The bus started to move towards the Prospect Expressway, and that is when I saw this:

I was on a total state of shock. The jolly green giant that pulled it up damaged some really nice cars too, but the bus was going so fast that I didn't get a pic.

So, as I am riding on the bus, and I see other buses packed with other people, I saw the "Stupidity unfolding". There was a woman actually sitting in the stairwell of the bus, while we were on the highway. Hello??? Do you want to fall out and watch your skull crack open? What do you think the "no standing in front of white line" is for? So, I guess acts of God causes the MTA to shut down, and people to forget all about safety. Then, about 2 seconds later, I see some men riding in a blue van, with no rear passenger seats, with the rear door and the passenger door OPEN. Hmm... free A/C anyone??? Another potential skull-cracking incident.

On to the knitting, now!!!
Today was Stitch N Pitch, so I decided to begin a new pattern that was an easy stitch (Stockinette) for the purpose of mindless knitting while watching the game. I am starting my Snuggle Sweater. Here is the prepwork:

And since my office was a Ghost town, here is a progression of my work.

11:00 AM

5:00PMAfter Stitch N Pitch

I must say, that this yarn is quite lovely. It is extremely soft, and the pattern has just enough color changes to keep me interested.

So, I pose a question.

- The rows are even numbered, until I get to one specific color that calls for 3 rows. So, all the yarn is carried to the right on the "Right Side" of my work. So, do I (Gasp!) cut the yarn that takes up 3 rows, instead of trying to carry it ? I will have to begin the next color segment on the Wrong side. How do we fix that?